


Pete, Patrick, and the Pretend(?) Date

by infinite_on_high



Category: Fall Out Boy
Genre: M/M, Valentine’s Day, fluffy goodness, this is super sweet I promise
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-14
Updated: 2018-02-14
Packaged: 2019-03-18 04:19:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,597
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13674144
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/infinite_on_high/pseuds/infinite_on_high
Summary: Pete just wants to be with Patrick on Valentine’s Day, even if he’s only with him on a pretend date. Even then, he has a hard time convincing Patrick that that’s a good idea.





	Pete, Patrick, and the Pretend(?) Date

Pete and Patrick waited in the studio for Joe and Andy to arrive. The two of them always seemed to be late for some reason. They decided to give them the benefit of the doubt and assume it was just because they lived farther away, but Pete still wondered if there was something more to it.

“How long has it been since we got here?” Pete asked, looking up at the clock.

“I don’t know. Maybe, like, fifteen minutes,” Patrick replied.

“Is that a new record?”

“What do you mean?”

“For Joe and Andy being late.”

“It could be.”

“What the hell are they up to?”

“I told you, Pete, they just live farther away. They must’ve gotten stuck in traffic or something.”

“They’re probably getting coffee or something. And maybe there was a huge line at Starbucks today, so that’s why they’re so late.”

“I guess so.”

“Anyway… it’s Valentine’s Day, huh.” Pete didn’t even attempt to make a smooth transition between the subjects.

“Yeah. Crazy, huh.”

“I mean, look on the bright side. Tomorrow all the stores will be selling chocolate for half off.”

“Pete, you’re wearing five-thousand dollar shoes, I’m sure you can afford to buy chocolate at the normal price.”

“Sure, but it’s about the principle, okay?”

“Okay.” Patrick laughed. Pete liked Patrick’s laugh; it was deep and full but not too loud either.

“So… you aren’t seeing anyone, are you?”

“Nope. Unfortunately.”

“Neither am I. Don’t worry though, if you want cutesy gifts or whatever I can buy them for you.”

“Something tells me you were going to do that anyway.”

“Maybe.”

“I mean, you did last year.”

Pete cringed, remembering the giant stuffed bear he’d brought to Patrick’s house the previous year. He’d hardly been able to carry it considering it was almost as big as he was, and had wound up dropping it the moment he entered Patrick’s house. Unfortunately, that combined with his general lack of coordination caused him to fall flat on his face. Patrick’s girlfriend at the time (who Pete hadn’t known about, in his defense) wound up walking in on him, face-down on top of a massive teddy bear in Patrick’s doorway with Patrick standing there shaking his head. And sure, maybe she’d laughed it off after Pete had left, but it could definitely have given her the wrong idea. Although Patrick did still have that stuffed bear somewhere in his house while the girlfriend had broken up with him a while ago, so Pete figured when it came between cute girls and his stupid hopeless-romantic ass, he somehow won out.

“Well, at least I won’t ruin your relationship this year.”

“Great.”

“So… if you don’t have any other plans… do you wanna go out with me? For fun, I mean. Not like a real date. Just as friends.”

Patrick had seen that one coming from the moment the conversation started. Pete had done this before, too many times for Patrick to count. It was like he was trying to find every possible occasion for him and Patrick to go on a ‘pretend’ date together, so much so that Patrick was pretty sure at this point that Pete was just in love with him or something. One time Pete had even offered to take Patrick on a pretend date under the logic that it was Father’s Day, despite neither of them having kids and also the fact that that isn’t the point of Father’s Day at all.

“Come on, Pete, I’ve told you a thousand times. I don’t want to pretend-date you. I like you and all, but I think that’d just be weird.”

“How?”

“I dunno. I guess… I mean, we’re just friends! Not boyfriends.”

“So you’d go on a date with me if we were boyfriends.”

“In another world in which we’re boyfriends and not just friends, yes.”

“Can we be boyfriends, then?”

“Nice try.”

“So that’s a no.”

“I’m sorry, Pete. I guess I could buy you some of those Valentine’s Day chocolates you apparently love so much.”

“I guess so.”

Joe and Andy arrived soon after that. Pete was trying to hide his disappointment during the recording session. Really, he was way more upset than he should have been. He hadn’t even been rejected, really, all he’d asked for was a pretend-date. It wasn’t something that he should have taken seriously.

So why did it hurt so much?

That evening, Pete sat on his bed, mindlessly watching the news. He debated going to the store and buying himself some Valentine’s Day stuff, not even ironically, really just out of self-pity. He hadn’t even bought anything for Patrick (he was too afraid after the incident last year), but now he wished he had so he’d at least have an excuse to see Patrick. Instead he just sat there, staring at the ceiling, and wondering why the fuck he was so in love with him.

Then he heard a knock at the door. Pete wasn’t expecting any guests, so he was in no rush to open it. He sluggishly walked to the door, barely even caring who had knocked, and opened it slightly.

However, when he saw who was on the other side of the door, he instantly cared a lot more. He swung the door all the way open just so he could take it all in.

Patrick stood on the porch, dressed in a collared shirt and a tie. The light of the street lamps reflected off of his hair, which practically sparkled. He held a single rose in one hand and a box of chocolates in the other; it was a cliched romantic gesture that Pete could definitely appreciate. His mind raced, trying to think of something to say that wasn’t either stupid or pervy.

He eventually landed on “Holy shit” which earned a laugh from Patrick so it must have been alright. Patrick offered Pete the rose and chocolates, which Pete accepted wordlessly. Pete could feel his face twisting into a stupid grin, and he didn’t even care.

“You’re welcome,” Patrick said.

“Oh my god, thank you!” Pete gushed. “So is this a date, or…”

“Well, it would have been, except every restaurant in town is packed. So unless you want to have a romantic date at Taco Bell, we aren’t going out.”

“We can just stay here,” Pete offered. “I mean, I could make macaroni and cheese.”

“Sounds great,” Patrick agreed.

Fifteen minutes later, the two of them were sitting across from each other at Pete’s kitchen table, eating macaroni and cheese. If Pete was being honest with himself, it was probably one of the better dates he’d been on.

“What made you change your mind?” Pete asked. “You were pretty adamant about not going out with me back at the studio.”

“I don’t know,” Patrick answered. “I guess I just didn’t want us both to be alone on Valentine’s Day, you know?”

“Well, I guess I would have been okay spending the night writing sad poetry about how lonely I am,” Pete said jokingly. “But this is much better.”

“Yeah,” Patrick agreed. “I have to admit, eating mac and cheese in your kitchen beats sitting by myself in my room. And honestly? It’s one of the best dates I’ve ever been on.”

“If you count showing up at someone’s house with candy and having them make you mac and cheese as a date, yeah.”

“Admit it, you loved it. I saw you smiling.”

“You must have misremembered that part. I never smile.”

“But you did. And honestly, I wish you’d do it more. You have a really cute smile.”

Pete blushed. “You think so?”

“Of course.”

After they’d finished the macaroni and cheese, the two of them sat on Pete’s couch for a while.

“Sorry I didn’t buy you any presents,” Pete said. “I was scared to after the bear incident last year.”

“It’s alright,” Patrick told him.

“No, it’s not. You came all the way to my house just because I wanted to have a stupid pretend date with you and I haven’t given you anything in return.”

“Are you kidding me? You made me mac and cheese! That was way better than an overpriced box of chocolates. And besides, this date isn’t half bad.”

“Real date or pretend date?”

“I don’t know. What’s the difference, honestly? It’s Valentine’s Day. Half the country is having pointless one night stands with people they’ll never see again.”

“Good point,” Pete replied. “But if it’s a real date, does that mean we can do it again? I mean, only if you want to, but-“

“That… doesn’t sound too bad. I’d totally do this again.”

“Me too.”

They were silent for a minute, smiling stupidly and staring into each other’s eyes.

“You know, it’s not a date if we don’t kiss,” Pete said.

“Fine,” Patrick sighed. “Come here.”

He put one hand on Pete’s shoulder and pulled him in close. His other hand went behind Pete’s head, gently stroking his hair as the two of them kissed. Pete was overwhelmed, but he loved it. He held onto Patrick, never wanting the kiss to end. And when it finally did, he sat back on the couch, once again grinning stupidly.

“You’re smiling again,” Patrick pointed out.

“I know,” Pete said, smile still plastered over his face. It had been a while since he’d smiled like that, and he had to admit it felt pretty amazing. He wondered why it’d taken him so long to kiss Patrick.

“Actually, I really want to do this again sometime,” Patrick proclaimed.

“Me too,” Pete agreed strongly.


End file.
